Jaune's Hardships
by AnAustralianGamer
Summary: Jaune Arc has always made things harder then they needed to be. Putting his drink on the edge of some paper he was picking up, trying to knock something into place with a wrench instead of a hammer, applying to a combat school with the help of Vale's most wanted instead of just asking his father to train him. You know, the usual.
1. It all begins with a mistake

This is gonna be a White Knight/Snow Angel or whatever you kids call it nowadays. *Insert old man grumbling here* This is gonna get OOC af later in the story. But it's basically a retelling of RWBY, but with the teams a bit more mixed up, and a few extra shenanigans. Stuff happening before Beacon. May take me a few chapters to get back into the flow of things. Let's get started!

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Jaune Arc, hero, manly man, and all round cool guy. Or so he thought. The young knight had no clue how many times he would be proved wrong in his thinking. Not just by his partner, but by the Grimm, his teachers, his best friend, and even himself. Such was the depth of the rabbit hole he was throwing himself head first down. But one thing could be said. At least he didn't run away. Much.

"So, kid. Let me get this right. You come to Vale, nothing but the clothes on your back and a pocket full of Lien. You, without any help, find the most dangerous criminal in the city, just so you can get into Beacon?" A man of average build, yet fantastic hair asked our young hero, puffing his cigar the entire time.

"Yes?" Jaune squeaked. His answer barely escaping his lips. At the time, he had no clue who he was talking to, but an idea was forming in his head. He did not like the idea very much.

Roman laughed at the boy, smoke billowing from his mouth and nose like some sort of ancient dragon. "Well, you certainly came to the right person, even if it was rather foolish to do so. Tell you what blondie, I'll forge your transcripts. Say it's from some old hunter who trained you but died in combat. I got a few names lined up we can use. Old men who used to hassle my employer. Well, they don't anymore." The criminal mastermind had turned his open laugh into a chuckle.

"I'll send them to your scroll when they are finished, then you just send them up to Beacon, wait to be accepted, then you get to play hero all you want. And I get to be a few thousand Lien richer." Roman's smile could only be compared to that of a wolf that had caught his prey. After all, if they fail, then Jaune fails, and Roman still got to keep his money. If they work, then he gets to boast about how his forgeries are so good they even tricked the greatest minds in all of Vale.

"T-thanks?" Jaune said to the criminal, not too sure of himself. He was making a deal with the devil, and he knew it. But there wasn't much of a choice. The young knight wanted to be a hero, and he would only get himself killed if he were to do it any other way. They both knew it.

"Don't thank me yet. You're a kid from the middle of nowhere that has to live the next six months in Vale before school starts, not to mention without any cash. That Lien could have gotten you six months if you stretched it, but you needed transcripts. Talk about not thinking ahead." The thief stood up, with Jaune's money, and gestured to the door. "If you ever need some cash, come see me. I could use a grunt that can actually think."

"I'll think about it?" Jaune told the man, his heart racing. He was going to get into Beacon. His dream was going to come true, even if it started off less than legal. The knight had plans to make up for his bad start by saving so many people that even of someone found out about it, they would realise he was needed way too much to be thrown in jail. Jaune wasn't too sure how he was going to do this, but winging it always seemed to work in the past.

"Good good. Now get out. Oh, and do us both a favour and don't get a job dust related. Not if you want to keep it." Roman said, a warning in his voice. Jaune just nodded dumbly and made his way to the door. "If that kid makes it past the first month, then he may just be worth watching." Roman said to himself, or he would have had a small girl with heterochromia not stepped out of the shadows. Not that Jaune ever noticed her.

The girl, Neo, just tilted her head to the side, not answering the man. Not that she really could, being a mute and all. "Yeah yeah, I know. No need for the sass." Roman told her, seeming to understand the girl, even if no words left her mouth.

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Well, that's the start of it. Now we watch Jaune struggle for a few chapters before Beacon starts. A problem with many of my old stories was that I rushed the plot when I shouldn't have, and I am aiming to fix that by making this slow and painful, but don't worry, it's not going to be boring.


	2. The first step

Jaune laughed softly to himself in a mix of joy and fear. He had done it, he had made his way into Beacon, even if it took stumbling into the underworld to do it. But the young knight didn't let that bother him too much. If Roman was to expose him, it would mean he would have to expose himself too. Not that the criminal would ever do that, as the underworld was built on mutual trust that so long as everyone kept their mouth shut no one was going to go missing.

The boy wandered the streets of Vale, the red light district to be precise. Jaune didn't really know what it was called, only that it holds a lot of nightclubs, bars, and ladies on the side of the streets. There also seemed to be a lot of men in large jackets, but they, both whores, drug dealers, and otherwise, seemed to ignore Jaune. Be it because of the sword at his side, or just the look of pure innocence on his face as he marvelled at the city.

As Jaune wandered through the streets, he soon left the red light district and wandered into a market, he realised something. Roman was right. He needed money if he was to survive. Reaching into his pocket, our hero pulled out his wallet. It was a simple thing. Black leather with a chain hanging off of it to clip onto his pants. A present from his eldest sister, with the words of advice she gave him burned into his brain. 'Keep it attached to your pants at all times. If you get pickpocketed before even finding a place to stay and a job to pay the bills then you will be stuck there.'

As far as Jaune's parents and sisters knew, he was moving to Vale with a few thousand lien to his name so that he could make a name for himself as a businessman, not to throw it all away in the hope that a criminal wouldn't cheat him. Just another lie to add to the pile.

Help Wanted

Experience Not Needed.

Two Weeks Work minimum

Jaune was amazed. For once fate had decided to deal him a good hand. A coffee shop in the market had an opening. It was a small building, tucked away in an ally, all that marked it was a small wooden sign hanging above the door. As Jaune stared at the shop, he noticed it looked a bit different than the other buildings around. It seemed older. Like it had more history behind it. The door carved out of mahogany, the handle seemed to be made out of silver but is more likely to be copper with a coating over it. The windows stained to match the rich brown of the door. Whereas the buildings around it were made of cement, and clearly of mass production, this one was made of wood. Two stories of dark oak. Almost matching the rich dark brown of the mahogany door.

Seeing that no progress would be made just standing outside, the blond knight lightly turned the handle, slightly afraid he would break it, and opened the door. Instantly he was hit with the smell of a fresh blend of coffee. "Come in." An older voice called out to Jaune. The voice was welcoming and warm, like the first breeze of spring after a harsh winter.

The boy stumbled in, worry overtaking him that he was letting out the warmth, even though it was only the first week of autumn. The cold had yet to even set in, as it took a few weeks before Vale would be hit by the cold winds. "S-sorry" Jaune muttered to the man as he looked around.

The coffee shop had a rather large dining area. Small armchairs of anywhere between four to ten surrounding tables of various sizes, but all of darker shades of brown. There were a few smaller tables around the edge of the coffee shop with only two seats facing each other. Clearly for pairs out on a date, or just a friendly drink. Tucked away in the farthest corner from the entrance was a few single seaters, for those that came alone.

Most the seats were empty, other than a six seater that had a group of Faunus chatting quietly, even if the occasional laugh pierced the quiet from their group. At the back of the shop was a very large man with a laptop and notepad, as well as a handful of books. He seemed to be writing at a furious pace, the sound of his pencil could be heard scratching even by the door. Brightly coloured paintings adorned the walls, adding some much-needed brightness to the shop while keeping the warm atmosphere the dark brown and smell of fresh coffee gave.

All in all, Jaune was amazed by the place. The fact that it was not packed to the brim amazed the young knight more than he could express with words. Even if he could not get the job advertised, he could see himself coming back here often during the cold autumn/winter nights and enjoying a hot cup of coffee before heading home.

"Umm, sir, I would, no, I was wondering-" Jaune began, but was quickly silenced by the older man. He was tall, not quite as tall as Jaune though. Measuring in at about 6 feet tall, give or take a few inches, and being of an incredibly thin build. Thick black hair was starting to give way to grey at the edges of his hairline. His suit, that of a butler, was pressed immaculately.

"Take your time son." He told the knight. A smile slipping onto his lips like the first rays of light piercing the night. It gave Jaune the confidence to say what needed to be said. He knew he would not be judged for failing over his words, as this man before him had seen and experienced it all before, and had the patience only born of decades on Remnant. His soft green eyes locked onto Jaune's bright blue, keeping the knight's attention fixed on only him.

Jaune took a deep breath. Letting the smell of the freshly ground coffee invade his lungs, expelling the last dregs of nerves the young man had left. "I was wondering if you still had that job available?" Jaune asked, looking down at the man, feeling his nervousness slowly start to return, although nowhere near as bad.

The older man nodded, his smile growing slightly larger. "Yes. I only just put it up about half an hour before you came in. I am in desperate need of another worker, as my last was attacked by some ruffians. It will take her a few weeks to recover. Although the sign says two weeks, that is only for the best case scenario. It is more likely to be three or four weeks." As the old butler looking man spoke, his voice took on a slightly musical tone, going higher in pitch towards the end of his sentences, and often changing pitches depending on the words he spoke. He was very clearly not from Vale.

"Tell me, boy. Have you any experience in this line of work?" The older man gave the younger a quizzical look. He most likely already knew the answer, due to Jaune's stuttering, and his very clearly youthful appearance.

"N-no sir. This is the first time I have even applied for a job." Jaune answered, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry.

"Oh? Well, in that case, let us take a seat. We shall keep it rather informal. I don't think your knees could take it if we stayed standing like this." The elder said, gesturing to the closest two seater. It was right by the door, in clear view of those outside. Though the tinting made it so people could only really peak in if they stopped and focused.

Once the pair were seated, the older gentleman started talking again, asking multiple questions at a time. "Tell me, why did you apply for this job? What are your goals? What is your favourite blend of coffee?" The older man spoke slowly, letting Jaune digest each word, but making sure things went quickly. No one knew when the next customer would walk in.

Our young hero answered quickly. like the words would burn his lips if he didn't get them out quick enough. "I applied for the job because I have no money. I had to spend it all to get here." Jaune lied, almost effortlessly, as his mind didn't have time to question if it was good enough to pass the man's scrutiny. "My goal is to become a Hunter, I am applying to Beacon in a few days. I have never had coffee before. It was too expensive to get all the way out to my village Even when we had it, it would normally be all brought up and used by the older men." Jaune answered truthfully.

The man's smile slipped slightly as he heard that Jaune had never had coffee before. A few lines being drawn by the wrinkles of his face as his brows drew together slightly. "Well, we will have to fix that last part. Tell me, why do you wish to be a Hunter? What did you do before coming here? What is your hight?"

"I want to be a Hunter to save people. To be a hero." Jaune felt his voice rise slightly at that part. He often had people laugh at him when he said his dreams aloud. Many had lost friends and family to the Grimm. Being a hero meant death in their eyes. Only Jaune's father was an exception to his, being properly trained and all. The elder man's eyebrow raised at this, but he said nothing.

"Before coming here, I only really did odd jobs around the village. Cutting wood, painting houses, collecting and mixing herbs." The older man seemed to perk up a bit at the mention of collecting and mixing herbs, as the process wasn't too different from how the coffee shop crushed their beans, preferring to do it by hand then machine. "And my height is 6'1''."

The elder nodded, standing up slowly. "Well, I would say you will do well here. Although I think we will need a practical exam to test it. Work the rest of the day, and I will tell you if you are hired afterwards. Now, take the sign off the door, and let's get started."

Jaune felt his heart skip a beat. He was getting a chance. For the first time in his life, he didn't need to use his father's name for someone to give him that chance. Someone was actually putting their faith in him because he convinced them. Jaune had never felt this great before. Even if he failed at Beacon, perhaps he could come back here, and work for this man that trusted him.

"Hurry along young man. We have work to do." Jaune nodded dumbly, and grabbed the sign with all due haste, ready to complete his first day of work.


	3. One step forwards

Jaune had only worked the last few hours of the shift, yet he felt like he had worked the entire day non-stop. When the sign finally flipped over from open to closed, the young knight collapsed. After only a moment, the owner of the coffee shop placed a pure white porcelain mug under his nose.

"We are not quite done yet, Jaune. You still need to wash the mugs." The older man told him. Throughout the night, our young hero had learned that his new maybe bosses name was Miles. "But you can stop for a moment. Take a drink and tell me what you think."

Inside the mug was a thick, black liquid that smelled like death. He knew it to be coffee. Black, no sugar or milk. It would be strong enough to melt his insides if he drank it all in one go. "Umm, what is this?" Jaune asked, rather stupidly.

"Why, it's coffee. You have been serving it all night." Miles told the boy, a knowing smile on his lips. Whereas before, that smile looked like an angel descending on a ruined battlefield, now it looked like the devil himself had come to claim Jaune's soul. "Drink up."

Not wanting to lose his maybe job, Jaune did as instructed. Oh, how he wished he didn't. One overly-large gulp later, and the idiot had burned his mouth from the heat and killed his taste buds from the strong drink. Miles's light laughter could be heard from the coffee machine only a few meters away.

"Jaune, that was the silliest thing you have done all night. Don't worry, that's a good thing." The man informed Jaune. He walked over to the younger man with two things in his hands. Another coffee, this one looking more like chocolate then the unholy drink known as Black Coffee, and some ice. Jaune quickly began sucking on the ice, only for him to get a brain freeze a moment later.

With our young hero's hands clutched to his head, the barista let out another laugh, this one softer, and slightly more jolly. "My, if you make things this interesting every night, I may just have to convince you to stay on." The older man joked at the younger one. "Well, let's get onto your evaluation."

Jaune nodded at the man. "H-how did I do?" He asked, the nerves that he felt all night now becoming all too real for his liking. Miles stayed silent for an uncomfortable amount of time. Jaune thought he was going to faint. In the need to do something, anything, the boy took the coffee that was before him, the chocolate like one, and sipped at it. The young hero was pleasantly surprised. It tasted more like caramel than chocolate, but still had the strong bitter taste of coffee lingering at the back of his tongue. He decided he liked this drink.

Once Jaune had sipped his drink, the man finally answered and our brilliantly wise, as well as talented, hero realized he was waiting for him to try the coffee first. Heat rose slightly to his cheeks. This wasn't the first time the man had waited on Jaune to say or do something first. He hoped the coffee hid his embarrassment. Little did the knight know, the man was doing this to try and build up the boy's confidence in himself. But it was a lesson that took months to really show results.

"You did better then I expected," Miles told the boy, but instead of his normal smile, his face was frozen like someone had just poured liquid nitrogen on his face. "But not good enough. You spilled five drinks, tripped eight times, broke two mugs and burned yourself over twenty times. All in all, I should throw you out and never let you back in."

Jaune felt the pit of his stomach open up and lead into the deepest chasms of hell itself. He had just wasted an entire night on trying to get this job and failed miserably at it. He lowed her head, feeling the swell of tears begin to form behind his eyes. He tried to will them away, but couldn't find the strength.

"But..." Jaune's head snapped up, looking at the man with desperate eyes. "Like I said, you did better then I expected. You got the job. We can train those bad habits out of you." Miles broke out into a smile as Jaune's tears began to fall. This time from happiness and relief. He had been so worried, so afraid that no one would find a use for him, but now all those worries were over.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I-I'll try my best. I-Ill get better, I will work hard and not let you down." Jaune said, a slight hint of pleading in his voice like this was all most sort of big setup and he was actually going to be thrown out.

"Go clean the dishes Jaune." The older man said, getting up and walking away. In truth, he was reluctant to hire the boy. He was next to useless. But he had nowhere else to go. No one to lean on, or put him back on his feet. The old barista was not doing this for his business, but for the boy. He'd seen too many times what happens to young men on the streets with no job or home.

Once the cleanup was done, Miles began to speak, glancing over in Jaune's direction. "Tell me, Jaune. Do you have a place to stay?" The barista knew he didn't. If he did, then he wouldn't be job hunting late at night.

"N-no. I don't." Jaune's voice fell flat as he realized that everywhere would be closed at this time, other than some less than reputable motels, and high-end hotels that cost way more than he could afford, even if he worked an entire month.

"For half your pay, you can stay on the second floor. I will supply you with foodstuff, and obviously pay the bills. The second floor is normally reserved for the richer guests, but there is a small apartment I used to live in up there. A TV is already installed, as is a bathroom and kitchen."

Jaune had wondered where the second floor was. It was clearly there when looking from outside, but inside there seemed to be no doorway. Suddenly, the older man walked over to a wall and slid it open, as if it was plain as day. As the knight walked closer, he was a small silver handle, barely notable unless one was looking for it. Those that where would most likely pass it off as a closet or something.

"We occasionally have more high-end guests that like their privacy. Originally the entire second floor was a house, but I had it renovated. Thus the hidden door. It would not be very smart to have customers walking into your house and stealing things while your back is turned."

It was like the older man was a mind reader, was all that Jaune could think. Jaune didn't really need any money, as Beacon would give him everything he needed for studying, but he did need somewhere safe to stay. That normally cost a lot of money, thus the need for this job in the first place. "Y-yes!" Jaune practically cried out.

"I mean, yeah. I would love to take you up on that offer, i-if you wouldn't mind." The old man just smiled at the younger one. For the first time, Jaune noticed how old the man was. He face was covered in wrinkles, his hands calloused and he walked with a slight limp. Black hair was streaked with gray and resting on his nose was a pair of small, but expensive looking glasses. Jaune could now see why this man had needed help so badly. He was most likely in more pain the Jaune could ever remember being in after working a full day.

"Alright then. Up you go. The door to your apartment is the same as this one, so keep an eye out for the handle. Wake up at around eight. We ready up at nine, then open at ten." Jaune must have looked surprised at the late start because the man kept speaking. "We are a coffee shop, not a fast food restaurant. People come for lunch and after work relaxation, not their morning coffee."

"R-right." Jaune nodded, making his way up the stairs. "See you tomorrow then." Jaune called out as the lights below, around, and above him began to dim. The never went fully off. Better to keep the lights on so people could see shadows and call the cops if someone broke in. Or in this case, so Jaune could fend them off. He WAS a hunter in training after all.

The apartment was small, as expected. Four small rooms. A double bed that took up most the bedroom with a few small square cupboards stacked on each other. A bathroom with a shower, sink, toilet and barely enough room for one person to move between them. A small kitchen pantry mostly filled with coffee, and a few random ingredients. Then there was the living room/kitchenette. It had a TV that was at least twenty years old, a very comfortable old sofa that was easily large enough for someone to sleep on. Jaune did just that too. He was too tired to bother with the old bed and collapsed on the nearest thing he had. He barely even remembered to set his alarm to 7am. He decided he wanted to go for a run in the mornings after all.

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Hey. My internet is dying so i couldn't do anything. I was reading some good 'ol fanfics (Thanks Coeur) to waste time for the next 4 days until it resets. Then decided i'll write another chapter or two of this to get people hooked then abandon them again. Seriously, don't get your hopes up.


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